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Chapter 24

On Earth's Lookout, those huddled around Baba's crystal ball had to shield their eyes from the blinding light. Gohan's last attack had been a horrifying display of pure power, a reminder of the beast he kept under control. As the attack raged on, Baba's ball started to vibrate under the intense onslaught of power it was attempting to portray. In a burst of light, it exploded.

"No, no, my baby. What happened? Is he okay?" Chi-Chi asked. Her hand extended towards the space the ball had previously occupied.

"We just have to wait now." Dende said his voice hollow.

Gohan sank to the ground beside Piccolo, his pale eyes frantic. 'Piccolo? Come on, talk to me, grunt, nod, something!'

Piccolo let out a soft moan, it was not much, but Gohan heard him. Picking him up, Gohan searched for the Elder. There had to be other Namekians like Dende with the ability to heal.

Locking onto the villagers, Gohan landed beside them in a second, frightening the newly conscious Nameks. "Elder Moori, help him! Please you have to fix him!" Gohan said, rushing to the man.

Moori stumbled back from the terrifying warrior in front of him. The man's pale eyes were wild, panicked; his long white hair jutted out behind him in spikes, and his energy was like nothing he had ever felt.

"Moori!" Gohan yelled frantically. Why wasn't he helping? "It's me, Gohan, Goku's son. Please. Piccolo, he is hurt, I cannot let him die! Please, you have to help him!"

Connecting the face with the name, Moori ran forward. "Put him down." He instructed. Gohan growled at him, his grip tightening possessively. "Gohan, I won't hurt him, put him down." Grudgingly, Gohan carefully lowered his friend to the ground. Moori leaned over him, examining the wound.

The thunder in Gohan's mind was dimming, quieting with each passing moment. Suddenly Gohan fell to the ground. He grabbed his head screaming in pain as his link with Piccolo started to shutdown.

"Gohan! What's the matter? Are you hurt?" Moori asked urgently.

"Piccolo…fused…me…" Gohan gasped out, hardly able to speak for the pain.

Moori's eyes widened in realization, if the two were fused, then both could die. Motioning to have the village healers join him, they worked on Piccolo, trying to close the awful hole in his chest. All the while struggling against the outpouring of pure energy and pain the boy was slamming them with.

Gohan was unintentionally releasing waves of energy in his torment. What he had experienced on the Lookout was nothing compared to this. It felt as though someone was trying to rip the very soul from his body. Letting out a final scream of anguish, the darkness engulfed him.

Bulma was trying to hold Chi-Chi back. After Dende had told her to wait, she had finally snapped and turned on the Kami.

"Wait? I am not going to wait! Fix it, now!" She demanded. The rest of the Z-Warriors backed away. No one messed with Chi-Chi; it was an unspoken rule within the group.

"Gohan and Piccolo are alive." King Kai's voice rang out from space above them.

"They are okay then sir?" Dende asked hope blooming in his chest.

"Physically yes, the Namekian healers were able to repair the damage to Piccolo in time but…"

"But what Kai? What's wrong with them?" Vegeta demanded.

"It's King, oh, never mind, no respect. Piccolo was at the brink of death, their souls tried to separate. The sheer trauma of that, I just don't know. I have nothing to compare them to; they are the very first fusion of their kind, ever. We will have to wait for them to wake up, until then…"

"We wait." Krillin said firmly, settling in.

"We wait." Yamcha said nodding.

"We wait." The words echoed throughout the Z-Warriors as they once again held vigil, hoping their friends would pull through.

"Elder Moori, can you hear me?" King Kai called.

"Yes I can hear you, who are you?" Moori asked.

"I am King Kai, the Kai over the Northern Quadrant."

Moori's eyes widened, he had heard the Earthlings talk about the great Kai, but he had never expected to speak with him. "King Kai sir, it is a true honor. How may I help you?"

"Piccolo and Gohan how are they?"

Moori sighed, unsure how to answer. "Physically we have healed their injuries as much as we can. Gohan's appearance changed quite dramatically when he lost consciousness. But we do not know why, or what effect that will have on him."

"How did it change?"

"His hair had been white, now it is black. His eyes also changed from a pale blue to black."

"Oh, that's nothing to worry about, does that all the time." King Kai waved away Gohan's appearance dismissively. "Now, Elder Moori, I need you to try to read their thoughts. Can you do that?"

"Yes sir." Moori crossed the room and came to stand by the large bed upon which both warriors lay. Reaching out with his mind, he attempted to probe the depths of the half-breed's subconscious. Nothing, it felt as though there was a solid wall instead of a mind. Laying a hand on either side of the boy's head, he tried again. This time he was forcefully rejected. Holding a hand to his aching head he said, "I am sorry King Kai, but I cannot penetrate his mind. What does that mean?"

King Kai's relieved laughter answered him.

Four days after the battle with Mavoy, Piccolo opened his eyes. Letting out an involuntary groan of pain, he sat up. Feeling dizzy, he slowed the movement. Looking around he realized he was inside a house of some kind. The walls were white and curved; some vague memory tugged at the edges of his mind. Nail, he realized, Nail recognized the construction as home. That meant they were still on New Namek.

Struggling with his sluggish thoughts, he tried to reach out to Gohan. A slight noise made him look down. Gohan was laying beside him. Pushing at the boy's mind again, he waited for him to wake up.

Gohan slowly floated into consciousness and promptly wished he had not. He hurt, everywhere. As the reason for his pain surfaced, he frantically reached out for Piccolo.

'Shh, don't shout.' Piccolo's mental tone was whisper soft.

Nodding imperceptibly, Gohan relaxed, allowing his eyes to remain closed. 'You're okay.' It was a statement.

'Yeah kid, I'm fine. What happened? The last thing I remember is…' The memory of Mavoy about to kill Gohan flashed through his mind with all of the terror and pain that went with it.

'That blast hit you and you fell. I could hardly hear you, it was awful.' Gohan struggled to remember what all had happened directly after that. He slowly recalled concentrating the energy of the third transformation, the strange new appearance he had taken on, Mavoy's death. Then he was in front of Moori, trying to get him to help Piccolo, and then pain and darkness.

'I thought you weren't going to try to do that.' Piccolo said dryly, remembering Gohan's refusal to convert the transformation due to the dangers it posed.

'Well, I was desperate.' Gohan said, chuckling softly.

Piccolo shook his head as he lay back down. Exhausted already, they fell back asleep.

"Dende!" King Kai yelled.

"Yes sir?"

"They woke up. Gohan and Piccolo are going to be fine."

The noise on the Lookout was tremendous. No one had been willing to leave, waiting for their friends to wake up. Everyone hugged and cheered, grateful that they would see the two missing Z-Warriors in a few months. As Bulma clung to him, even Vegeta allowed himself to smirk.

"Oh no!" Chi-Chi shouted.

"What's wrong?" Bulma asked, running over to her.

"Gohan's going to be gone for months. I'll actually have to let him graduate early!" she wailed.

Blinking in surprise, Bulma's hands dropped to her sides. No one could ever remember who starting laughing first, but soon everyone was rolling on the floor. It was going to be okay. It was over.

Thank you so much to everyone that has stuck with me. It has been amazing to see your response to my little story. This portion of the tale is complete. I am working on the sequel- Guarding the Light. It is not quite ready to be posted yet. As soon as I am happy with it, I intend to continue with daily chapter updates. I am putting a small preview down below. I hope it intrigues you.

Thank you again.

Terga Dare

Preview to Guarding the Light

The man sneered in disgust at the prone figures before him. How had a Namek and a Saiyan half-breed managed to defeat Mavoy? They appeared to be so weak, helpless. Hearing someone approach, he faded from sight. Listening to the Elder's conversation, he noted King Kai's declaration that the two would recover. Silently, he transported himself away; his master would be interested in their prognosis.